Welcome to New Pacifica!
by Sedra
Summary: Devon Adair finally wakes up after four years in cold sleep. What awaits her in New Pacifica? Devon learns what she's missed. But what are her friends hiding? This is a sequel to another story I wrote, No Special Occasion, but the plot stands on its own.
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1**

The ocean. Waves crashing on the shore, the foam resting on top of the water for a moment. She could see it. Hear it. But she had to reach back into her own memory for the salty smell. The feel of the wind against her face, through her hair. The view was beautiful, but she began to feel restless. For a moment she thought of pausing the vid and asking Julia if she'd given her the wrong one.

"New Pacifica," Morgan's unmistakable voice intoned dramatically. "A dream. And now…a reality! It's not only beautiful, it's the answer to humanity's struggles. New Pacifica holds the cure for what ails you!" Devon wasn't surprised at Morgan's ability to mimic a travel vid host. "And in the immortal words of the great Devon Adair, 'A man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's heaven for?'"

Devon was feeling a little muddled from her latest treatment, but she knew she had never said anything of the sort.

The ocean scene faded into an old video of Uly, obviously captured by Yale before they had left the Stations. Devon hadn't seen him in his immuno-suit or his chair in so long, she'd almost forgotten how weak and frail he had been for most of his life. The tubes helping him breathe. The dark circles under his eyes. But he always had that bright smile that got her out of bed every morning. "I'm Ulysses Adair," Uly narrated. "This is probably how most of you remember me. There was so much I wanted to do, but I was so tired all the time and sometimes it hurt just to be awake. Everything I did was hard. Even breathing was hard. But my mom had a dream…"

Devon was taken aback as the scene shifted yet again. She saw Uly, almost a year older than she remembered, standing on the beach. Smiling, blinking in the sunlight. He had grown so much that year. Taller, tanner, his hair lightened by the sun. But it was the same goofy grin that Morgan had captured. Devon forced herself not to pause her gear. She knew Julia was watching her for any signs of distress. She didn't want to risk the chance that the doctor would take her gear away and force her to rest. But she was grateful for the sedi-derm that was keeping her relaxed as the transport rocked her gently back and forth. Without the sedi-derm, she would have been tempted to jump out and run to New Pacifica herself to hold her baby in her arms.

"Welcome to New Pacifica!" Uly shouted, throwing bright red flowers into the air.

The following images almost made her laugh. Morgan's travel vid inspiration carried through the rest of the orientation. Generic up-beat music accompanied flashy images of New Pacifica. A few roughshod buildings; Terrian caves, glowing with the soft light of sunstone veins; her dear friends hard at work, pretending to be surprised by the camera and waving vigorously. With the same music track continuing in the background, the members of Eden Advance introduced themselves one-by-one. They took turns explaining what had happened to them during their travels. The sabotage, the crash. The lost members of the crew and Advance team. The penal colonists, scientists, ZEDs. Terrians, Grendlers, kobas, and one that was new to Devon, the Aquans. The quirks or dangers of various animals and plants. The Dreaming. With that happy music in the background, it all sounded like a fantastic VR adventure. She supposed that was Morgan's intent. But her friends seemed to be smiling a little too wide. Trying a little too hard. She knew them all well enough to know that what she really was seeing was fear. They were afraid of the colonists' arrival.

Uly, Mazatl, and Alonzo explained to the colonists how they had Dreamed with many of them while they were in cold sleep. And that they shouldn't be afraid. Devon noticed that every time they brought up a strange and alien topic, their tones became dismissive, almost saying, "Hey! It's no big deal!"

Julia explained matter-of-factly the role the Terrians played in curing Uly of the Syndrome. It sounded so simple. So easy. But Devon knew that the Terrians had never given them that choice. Would Devon have chosen to trust them if they had offered? She wasn't sure. Not at first, anyway. What would the colonists choose? What _had_ they chosen? Julia skirted around the fact that the children would become part Terrian. Part of the planet itself. Perhaps that was just a little too much for an introduction to New Pacifica. First you get the colonists excited about the cure so there will be less resistance when you explain the side effects.

But there were still two things that were missing from the vid. Devon had yet to see John. And they had yet to explain where "the great Devon Adair" was.

Then there he was. The recording didn't match the jumpy style of the rest of the vid at all. John stood in front of a small house, arms crossed, head shaved, wearing a suit that was obviously hand made, but sharp. "I'm the mayor of New Pacifica. John Danziger." His stance almost said, "And if you don't like it, you can get the hell out of my town."

Devon hit pause.

"You got to John, huh?" Julia asked with a small laugh. She continued checking her supplies behind Devon.

"Yeah," she croaked. The pain block was helping, but it still hurt to talk.

"I know what you're going to ask. Don't worry, we have great footage of Bess shaving John's head. Doesn't he look thrilled?" Devon could hear Julia chuckling, but couldn't imagine what could possibly be funny. John certainly hadn't been laughing. He barely seemed himself.

Almost as an afterthought, Julia added, "Oh, right, and you must be wondering about how he became mayor." But Devon could still hear laughter in her voice.

"But," Devon started. Damn, it hurt.

Julia stepped in Devon's view, concerned. "Shhh. Please, Devon. Don't try to talk. Is this too much for you?"

She shook her head vaguely.

"It's almost done. It turned out pretty well, don't you think? Morgan was quite the taskmaster. Well, he couldn't get John to contribute much, but you know how he can be. Morgan begged him to do a re-shoot." Julia laughed softly. Devon was still having a hard time comprehending that for Julia, the memories of these events were years old.

"Colonists…what…"

Julia regained her composure and frowned. "Devon, if I start answering your questions, you'll just get confused. You really need to watch the vids in order. Alonzo assured us this was the best way to get you caught up. Space jumpers who were in cold sleep for more than a year were usually debriefed this way. We always show 'Welcome to New Pacifica' first. You've missed a lot, but if you watch the vids in order, you shouldn't be too lost once we get home. "

Devon closed her eyes for a moment. Watching the vid and trying to focus was exhausting. Home. Julia called it "home." Devon had missed months of traveling with her companions. Months of building a colony out of scraps. Months of introducing groups of colonists to their new home. Months that had kept her friends busy. Months that had grown into four years.

Before Julia could threaten to take her gear away, Devon tapped it, and the vid continued.

She returned to Uly standing on the beach, wearing flowers in his hair, which was getting much longer than she would have allowed. "My mom had a dream. But she hasn't seen New Pacifica. Not yet. She's sick. She's in cold sleep thousands of clicks from here. Won't you help us make New Pacifica the kind of place she dreamed of? It'll take time and hard work, but we can do it…together! Welcome to New Pacifica! Welcome home!" With that, True ran up to him, gave him a soft shove, and they took off running down the beach, laughing and racing. As they faded into the distance, they turned briefly to wave.

Devon found the whole thing a little silly, but she couldn't help the tears that filled her eyes at the beauty of the scene, the sheer joy in the children's laughter. Watching her son run so freely, carelessly. She laughed shallowly as old-fashioned credits began to fly across the scene. She wanted to quip, "Looks like Morgan finally found his true calling," but knew it would take too much energy. And she _was_ getting tired. As much as she wanted to watch it again, she was anxious to get caught up on all the other vids that her friends had been making for her the past few years.

"That's enough for now, Devon," Julia said softly, noticing that Devon's eyes had closed again and her heart rate was beginning to slow.

Devon nodded. She felt Julia remove her gear and let the gentle sway of the transport rock her to sleep.

Julia took a deep breath and let herself relax against the wall of the transport. She watched Devon sleep for a few moments, unable to take her eyes off of her. Her chest tightened as she thought of everything Devon had missed. How difficult it would be for her to adjust to life in the colony she always thought she would build herself. What would Devon make of it all? What would she think of some of the decisions they'd made? Some of the more questionable choices they'd made?

And, of course, how long could she keep up the lame excuses as to why Devon's own son and her best friend weren't there to meet her after she first woke up? Julia just hoped Alonzo would have good news when she could finally contact New Pacifica.

_Let it be_, she thought_. No use letting the anxiety take over. She's alive, which is more than we've been able to hope for her the past couple years._

The transport slowed to a stop.

"Heller," Walman called from the cabin. "Pit stop!"

Julia checked Devon's signs again before she opened the back of the transport and dropped to the ground. She watched Walman, Mazatl, Magus, and the others spill out of its sides, stretching and yawning.

Walman walked up to her. "How's it going back there?"

"So far, so good. Her recovery will take time, but it's steady. I don't have any reason to think at this point that she won't be fine by the time we get home." Julia reached up to stretch her back and began to roll her head.

"Feels like old times, huh?" Walman said, smiling, taking in their surroundings.

Julia raised an eyebrow. "Never thought we'd miss it, did we?"

"Sure didn't. Well, this time we know where the hell we're going at least. And this transport beats the shankin' trans-rover any day. This baby is smooth. We'll slow down a bit through the range, but the plains will be perfect for hover mode. Wish we could've just taken the shuttle, though."

"I know, but…"

Walman held out his hand to stop her. "I know, I know. We didn't want to shock her. Nah, it was a good idea to do it this way. Give her time to watch the vids. Time to recover. I mean, as far as she remembers, we're still on the road anyway."

"How are we progressing today?" Julia inquired, shading her eyes as she looked up to the sun.

"Pretty good. Let's see, we were at Bennett's ship for two days. The transport's making good time, so it'll get us to the foothills in four days, six more to get us through that pass through the Adair Range… Hmmm, maybe we shouldn't mention that name to her. She'll think we didn't expect her to ever wake up," Walman mused.

"We didn't," Julia sighed, pushing her hair out of her face.

Walman frowned before continuing. "Five days through the plains, then we're ready for that spider cave. Well, spider hole, at that point. We really should come up with a better name for those things."

Julia smiled. "Like we haven't had better things to do the past few years."

Walman placed a hand on her shoulder and lowered his head to look at her eye-to-eye. "Listen, don't do this to yourself, alright?"

Julia was taken aback. She hadn't meant anything by her comment, but she knew how it must have sounded. Even with all of her medical triumphs since landing on the planet, the memory of Devon's sleep capsule had haunted her. She'd been obsessed. She hated herself for thinking how much easier it would have been if Devon had died. If John hadn't caught her in those final moments.

"I'm fine, Walman. This trip is a tremendous relief, believe me."

"For all of us," Walman agreed. He studied her for a moment before he decided to add more encouragement. "Alright, so we've got fifteen more days. Then half of us continue on for the next seven weeks, picking up resources and loading the transport. The other half jump in the spider hole and meet Alonzo and the shuttle when we pop out of the other side. Won't he be a sight for sore eyes."

Julia smiled at the mention of Alonzo. She knew Walman had dropped his name on purpose. "Thanks, Walman."

"This is a nice vacation." He took in a deep breath, eyes closed, before exhaling loudly. "I'm missing out on stable duty, canning… Hell, I'm missing guard duty. Yup, this is a vacation."

Julia laughed. "Well, don't get too excited. A lot can happen in fifteen days."

"Aw, come on, Doc. We've got supplies, communication equipment, Terrian support, tried-and-true Grendler routes, and a smooth ride."

"Not to mention changes of clothes," Julia added, enjoying the opportunity to count their blessings.

Walman threw his head back in laughter. "Yeah, really. We're traveling in style. Hell, Adair's got it easy. She just gets to lie around watching vids all day."

Julia watched a few of their travel companions make their way back to the transport.

"Well, one thing we don't have is a shankin' water closet onboard, so I'm gonna go find a tree. Don't be shy, Heller. I know it's been awhile, but you still know how this works, right?" Walman teased, walking away.

"Ever the gentleman, Walman," she called after him.

He waved at her without turning around.

Julia looked around at the scrubby trees and smiled. The last time they had been in this area, they had all been far from smiling. She'd been a terror after they'd left Devon behind. She was still amazed that Alonzo had stuck by her side as she struggled with her failure. He'd been patient. And stern when he needed to be. But he never pushed her away. Even months later when they were working on establishing the colony, Julia was often tense and angry. "You're not giving up, Julia," he'd said for what seemed like the hundredth time. "You're being realistic. You're just putting this project on hold until the medical team and their equipment get here. You heard John. Devon's fine where she is. She's safe. And she's not getting any worse."

Julia remembered John quietly confessing to her that he had Dreamed with Devon when he had visited the Underground. She never asked the circumstances, and as far as she knew, he had never shared that information with anyone besides her. Maybe he just thought she needed that reassurance more than the others. She had told Alonzo, hoping that he would remind her of John's words whenever she was discouraged. And he had.

Julia always believed him when he went on like that. It was the moments when she was alone or throwing herself into clearing a path or mixing mortar that she began to doubt again. "Then maybe you're not working hard enough," Alonzo had laughed when she had confessed this to him. He had pulled her toward him and kissed the top of her head, continuing to chuckle into her hair. Julia always pretended to be annoyed when he pulled a move like that in front of everyone, but she couldn't suppress her smile for long.

"Solace," she had whispered once across their pillow after a particularly leisurely evening spent in each other's company in their hidden corner of the Terrian caves. She was sleepy, vulnerable. They spent a long time gazing into each other's eyes, slowly drifting into sleep. "You're my solace," she sighed. It was the kind of statement that would sound ridiculous in the light of day, but meant everything in the world under the soft glow of the sunstones. Whenever Julia remembered that moment, she even rolled her eyes to herself. But she had meant it, and Alonzo knew that. He didn't laugh. Didn't even crack one of his grins. He just brought her hand to his lips. She remembered their time living in the Terrian caves fondly. Before the arrival of the colonists.

Julia shook her head out of the memory. It didn't take much for her to get caught up in it when they were apart like this. She imagined what it would have been like if Alonzo had been left behind instead of Devon, and it tied her stomach in knots.

She had fifteen days to get Devon ready for her grand entrance. Julia stretched again, anxious to return Devon to her son, but worried that all of their plans were of little use. There was no way to truly prepare Devon for New Pacifica.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

The transport hovered over the prairie, silently. It was larger than the trans-rover, but more compact. Built for speed, not strength. The balance wasn't perfect, so it tended to sway, although the ride was smooth for the most part. Gravity stabilizers like those on the station and on the shuttles would have taken up valuable storage space on the transport. That space was better used for holding various floral samples, minerals, and other natural resources that the colonists didn't have many opportunities to retrieve from this part of the continent often.

Devon wasn't sure which part of her situation was more frustrating; the discomfort and shame of being a helpless patient or the anxiety and confusion of losing four years of her life.

Her memories of the first day of her new life were already blurry. She could remember hearing Julia's voice long before her face came into focus. And there had been other people there. They were all outside. For some reason she'd known they were near Bennett and Anson's Venus shuttle. And she had been on the ground. She could smell the earth, freshly damp from rain. Julia was leaning over her, her hair dancing in the breeze. The doctor had tears in her eyes as she looked at her diaglove. "We did it," she'd said simply. Devon had heard the unmistakable sound of Terrian song, as if they were affirming Julia's statement. That was all Devon could remember before waking up in the large transport vehicle, again with Julia by her side.

Devon was too tired to follow any complicated explanations, but she learned she now had a bio-stat chip of her own. With the chip and help from the Terrians, she had been given a second chance at life. But once she had heard she'd been asleep for four years, she realized she had other things to worry about besides her health.

"Welcome to New Pacifica" was only the beginning of a long road to recovery.

Devon had learned it was no use trying to get any information out of Julia that she was not prepared to give. She suspected that the doctor had been chosen for this mission not just for her medical expertise but her strength. Devon would not be cracking Julia soon. It also must have been the reason the other members in their party hadn't checked on her.

"He's fine. I told you before," Julia began to recite, looking Devon square in the eye, her mouth twitching in a tight smile, "we thought it would be better if Uly waited for you back at the colony. We weren't sure if this would work, and the last thing we wanted to do was traumatize the poor kid."

Devon took a long look at Julia. She remembered Julia's demeanor the last time she'd held a secret from her about her son.

"Yale…"

"Devon, we've gone over this a million times. Yale hadn't been feeling well and was worried he would slow us down. He'll be so happy to see you."

That smile again, that barely discernible sharp intake of breath.

Devon cleared her throat, but it sounded to Julia's guilty conscience like an accusation.

Julia laughed and turned to her supplies. "What's the matter. Don't you trust me?" She stopped short. "Oh," she said without turning around. "That…wasn't that long ago to you, was it."

Devon gestured to her throat to make it clear that she wasn't capable of expressing such complex feelings at the moment.

Julia didn't respond. She slowly sat at her desk and flipped through slides. "I have some work to do, if you'll excuse me. We haven't been through this territory in a while, and I need to analyze these floral samples. There are more vids for you to catch up on if you like. Or you could rest."

Devon knew the conversation was over for now. She reached for her gear. What would Julia need to hide? The story could be true. It probably was true. Unless Uly didn't want to see her for some reason. But that wouldn't explain Yale. Certainly he would have come to meet her if he'd been able. And Julia swore that they were both very much alive. What was it then? She took one more look at Julia, bent over her microscope. There was no reason not to believe the doctor's explanation. She was just missing her son and friend and was hurt that they weren't there to share this time with her, she decided. After a deep breath, she started the next vid.

**The Leader**

Julia observed Devon intensely as she watched Mazatl's report. She knew it would be the one that explained how he and Uly had Dreamed with many of the colonists before they woke from cold sleep. It was the first time Devon would learn of the deaths of seventeen Syndrome children.

Devon removed her gear, her hand shaking. She had an idea of which children they were before Mazatl could list them. At least five of those children hadn't been fit enough for cold sleep. Their families knew there was little chance of survival, but they were willing to take the chance anyway. At first, Devon had turned such children away. But after so many delays from the Council, she would take whichever families were ready to leave on short notice. Now she regretted that decision. If they had stayed behind, perhaps they could have received new treatments on the Stations.

Devon wasn't able to sleep after watching that one. Julia told her she had had enough for the day and increased her sedi-derm.

The next morning, however, Devon was eager to continue her New Pacifica education.

"Ready?" Julia asked, handing Devon her gear for the day.

Devon nodded. "What?" she asked huskily, her voice still gaining strength.

"Today? Let's see. I think you've got some basic reports, Danziger's 'coronation,' the arrival of the first sets of colonists… Oh, and I think Uly's tenth birthday."

Julia smiled, but it seemed forced. Devon was learning that the doctor was worried about how she would take some of the reports. She almost seemed ashamed. Devon wanted to comfort her, but could only manage sympathetic glances.

Before she placed the gear on her head, she beckoned Julia close to her. Julia leaned her ear close to Devon's lips.

"Good job," she managed to whisper. "Don't worry."

Julia slowly sat back and hung her head. She seemed to be collecting herself. "Thank you, Devon. That means a lot."

Devon reached out and patted her hand before taking it in her own. "I can handle this. It'll be ok." She mostly mouthed the words, but some of the syllables managed to squeak out awkwardly.

Julia relaxed her shoulders in response. She squeezed Devon's hand. "I just want this to be as easy for you as possible. But sometimes… Sometimes I forget…" Julia cleared her throat, hating the emotions that were threatening to break through.

"Forget?" Devon whispered.

"It's been four years," Julia stated, her voice cracking. "We've been through so much, that sometimes… Sometimes I forget how strong you always were. How confident. How optimistic. I let you become your illness. I let you become this mystery that had to be solved. A puzzle I needed to figure out. It took me two years before I even realized you didn't have a chip like the rest of us. Another year trying to manufacture a similar one. Another year planning the rest and working with the Terrians. And I couldn't bear to think about the actual woman we had left behind. I let you down. But now, here you are. And… We've all changed so much, but you're still…you. I _missed_ you," Julia said softly, as though she had never considered it before.

Devon was touched. They had had their differences in the past, but she had always admired Julia's own strength and intelligence.

Devon squeezed Julia's hand in return before letting go and returning to her gear. "We're a lot alike," she mouthed.

Julia nodded and finally gave Devon a real smile instead of the one that usually accompanied her practiced bedside manner.

The vid reports were mostly in chronological order, and Devon began to watch them greedily, always eager for the next one. As she became stronger, she was able to sit up on her own, speak clearly, and most importantly for her, she could go for longer stretches watching the vids.

**The Terrian Prince**

Devon's heart raced whenever Uly appeared. Although it pained her to watch him grow so quickly, she appreciated the opportunity. At first his messages were enthusiastic retellings of his latest adventures. But Devon soon realized that the messages became more sparse as time passed. She sensed that he finally had come to the conclusion that his mother may never return. She could tell that he was trying to remain upbeat, just in case.

Uly was sitting beside Yale, facing a small cake. Bess stood next to the birthday boy, prepared to make the first cut.

"We used to put tiny little candles on the cake. One for each year," Bess explained to the group. She had decorated the cake with a few glowing shells. Julia had reassured her that the shells were perfectly safe for decorative purposes. But Bess could see in some of the faces around her that the shells detracted from their appetites.

Uly scrunched up his face. "Ew, candles on a cake?"

Bess shoved his shoulder playfully with her elbow. "We didn't eat them, silly. You made a wish, then blew out the candles."

Now it was True's turn to look skeptical. "Ew, you spit all over the cake, and then everyone ate it?"

Bess sighed. "Well, when you say it like that…"

"The birthday boy has to lick the shells, though," John said with a straight face. "Old Earth tradition. For good luck."

Uly's eyes grew wide. "Yale?"

"Well, if you don't think you're old enough to handle such a responsibility…," Yale began. As Uly returned his look of horror to John, Yale managed a wink for his friend.

"You're so gullible, Uly. You're ten now. They shouldn't be able to pull that stuff over on you." True threw her hair over her shoulder just to prove how much older and more sophisticated she was than her childish friend. Really, she'd just as soon hang out with the grown-ups nowadays instead of getting stuck with Uly all the time. She couldn't wait for the colonists to finally arrive and give her some real boys to hang out with.

"No, I'm not. I was just joking around, too," Uly smiled. But his gaze returned to the shells which were glowing a peculiar shade of green, giving the entire cake an unappetizing hue.

John stood behind Uly and placed a hand on his shoulder. "How about you just take those shells off and stick them under your napkin. Then you can go ahead and make that wish."

Uly let out a breath. "Yeah, that's a great idea," he said in relief. He reached out to remove the first of the shells before turning to Bess. "I'm sorry, Bess."

Bess smiled at him warmly. "It was a little experiment that didn't quite work. Don't worry about hurting my feelings, honey."

Uly returned her smile before quickly grabbing all of the shells as fast as he could and bunching them up in his napkin.

Everyone seemed to breathe a sigh of relief when they saw the cake in its natural tones. They were still scraping by on supplies, but Bess had managed to create a perfectly edible and possibly delicious cake.

"What'd you wish for?" Morgan asked as he recorded the festivities.

"I wished for…," Uly sang.

Bess clapped her hand over his mouth. "Morgan, you know he can't tell us that." As she removed her hand, she bent over to look him in the eye. "Uly, if you tell us your wish it won't come true."

Uly chewed the inside of his cheek, considering Bess's words of wisdom. It sounded logical enough to him. But it also sounded like something a baby would believe. And he wasn't a baby anymore. He considered showing them all that he wasn't afraid of this stupid wishing rule and blurting out what was on his mind, but decided that maybe it wasn't worth the risk. Just in case.

Bess began to cut the cake as Uly watched on vacantly. After a moment he turned back to Morgan and looked into the recorder. "Mom," he thought. "Mom, I wished to have you back," he thought as hard as he could. He even squeezed his eyes shut, hoping to get the message through. Then he opened his eyes, waved, and returned to wait for his slice.

Morgan could tell no one else had seen. And he was pretty sure Uly hadn't noticed Morgan at all when he tried to communicate with his mother without a sound. Morgan looked around to make sure no one could see him wiping a tear from his own eye, either. He decided to take a break from recording the party. They had recorded more footage in the past few months than Devon would ever want to watch. And Devon was no closer to coming back now than she had been when they got to New Pacifica. At this rate, they needed to start limiting how much they saved for her. "Only the highlights," Morgan whispered to himself, ending the recording.

There were other birthday celebrations, but his most recent was absent. In its place was a somber message for his mother. Uly, his voice changing, declared that his thirteenth birthday was meaningless. He couldn't understand how the colonists could still cling to Station time. That the concept of age for humans on this planet would have to shift to account for the shorter days, longer years. Instead, he would consider Moon Cross as the day he was born and celebrate it alone with the other changed children. "This is just how things are now," he stated defensively, leaving Devon to wonder who in his life had objected and whether he'd been given a hard time. Was this the manifesto of a rebellious teenager or the beginning of something else entirely? Who would her son be when she reached New Pacifica?

**The Earth Mother**

Bess sat on a large cushion, surrounded by pillows. It looked like a fairly comfortable makeshift couch, perfectly suitable for lounging. The kind of contraption they did not have the luxury of maintaining while they crossed the continent. But it seemed to fit perfectly in the Terrian caves. Bess had set up her own little area for her talks with Devon. That's how she referred to them, anyway. She knew John and Julia had their doubts about whether Devon would ever wake up, let alone watch these recordings. But Bess held fast to that hope. For Uly's sake, for their sake, for the colony's sake. And, she was slowly beginning to understand, for John's sake. She knew John was trying to hold the group together, but she also knew that things had worked best when he had the other half of his team.

She sipped her hot tea, thankful for the nip in the air that signaled an end to the hottest days they had experienced so far since they reached New Pacifica. Bess had been working on the new dome with the others. Nothing too strenuous, but Morgan had insisted she take a break when he saw her stopping to catch a breath. Julia reminded him that Bess would know when to make that call herself.

Usually Bess shooed Morgan away with a peck on the cheek. But today she thought she could use a rest. No one would blame her.

So, she returned to the little alcove she shared with Morgan and prepared her tea. What she really wanted was a chat with Devon Adair. She always smiled at the thought now. She wanted motherly advice from _the_ Devon Adair.

She took a few moments to enjoy her beverage, giving it some time to cool before starting the recorder.

"Hi, Devon," she started cheerfully. "Morgan says I need to cut back on leaving you so many messages. I'll try to keep this short. You're probably going crazy wanting to learn about everything you've missed. Not much has happened since the last time we talked. The dome is coming along great. The crew the Elder sent from the Underground is fantastic. It's amazing the difference they've made. Everything gets done twice as fast now. And I think the kids enjoy having some new folks around. New Pacifica will be habitable by the time the first colonists get here, at any rate. That's the best we're hoping for right now."

Bess smiled wickedly and took a quick glance around before leaning toward the recorder. "And I think Walman has his eye on one of them. Flora. She's cute. Surprisingly, Magus doesn't seem to mind. I thought for sure maybe there was something going on there, but I guess I was wrong. Things were so different when we were on the road." Bess kept smiling as she took a sip from her cup.

Absentmindedly, Bess's hand rested on her belly, and she looked down on it and smiled. "Devon, I really wish you were here right now." She raised her eyes and her happiness and excitement was mixed with fear and worry. "Julia can tell me all about the physical stuff. And even some of the psychological things that might happen because of hormones and all… But I just want a mother to talk to."

Bess laughed. "John's the closest thing I've got. And he's been wonderful, of course. But…I'm afraid. I mean, I'm not even afraid of giving birth, and I'm not worried about something being wrong with the baby. I just… I miss you, Devon. And I wish you were here."

Devon watched as Bess's eyes filled with tears. She released a long sigh as she wiped them away, looking toward the ceiling of the cave to try to curb their flow. Devon wanted nothing more than to hug Bess and tell her everything would be alright. That she would help her every step of the way. But she already knew that little Virginia was three years old. And Bess was now a mother for a second time as well. At this point, there might be more Bess could share with Devon about raising children.

Devon enjoyed Bess's vids. Bess was as candid as ever, sharing gossip about Eden Advance and, later, the colonists. Never vicious, but always full of enlightened observations, Bess's stories painted a picture of New Pacifica like no one else's could. Devon had known many of the families of the Syndrome children, but Bess was becoming their close friend and confidante. Now that many of the children were healed, parents, siblings, and other relatives and friends felt free to come out of their shells and start living again. And even though they had known Uly suffered just as much as any other Syndrome child, he had always been an Adair. The Syndrome families had been friendly to Devon on the Stations. But saying they were friends was a bit of an overstatement.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

**The Edenites**

"Go ahead, Morgan," Bess encouraged.

They had a few weeks until Sheila and Dr. Vasquez were set to wake up on the colony ship. The Edenites had been working non-stop to get as many systems in place as possible. They had scoured Yale's records for inventories of the colony ship, trying to find a way to utilize every possible item to its fullest extent. John, Walman, and Magus had already thought of ways to retrofit pieces of the colony ship itself to make up for some of the essential supplies that were lost with the advance ship.

Tonight they sat on the beach, sitting around a glowing, sparking bonfire. The past few days had been especially stressful. Walman wasn't having luck with his latest hydroponics designs, Denner hadn't been able to communicate reliably with the colony ship's systems, and everyone was exhausted from building a modified version of the bio-dome they remembered fondly from their winter camp.

Morgan gave Bess a sidelong glance, startled by the break in the silence. "Well, Bess, maybe now isn't the time."

Bess rested a hand on his knee and squeezed before turning to the group. "The orientation vid is coming along really nicely. Morgan showed me a cut last night."

True and Uly jumped off of their logs to rush toward the Martins. "Can we see it? I want to see it first!"

Bess laughed. "Hold on, you two. There'll be plenty of time for that."

Morgan scowled. "It's not ready yet, _children_. This is very important. I can't just slap something together. It's…_art_. You don't rush _art_."

True batted her eyelashes and smiled brightly. "Come on, Morgan, we know it'll be _amazing_ if _you're_ working on it."

The group burst into laughter. It had only been recently that True had discovered she could get her way much more easily if she buttered up her victim first instead of relying on pouting.

"Stop being such a suck-up, True."

Her sickly sweet façade ruined, she smacked Uly's arm. "Do you wanna see the vid or not, Uly? Why do you have to ruin everything?"

Before John felt the need to intervene, Morgan interrupted. "Sit down. We have something more important to discuss than the vid right now."

The children were taken aback by Morgan's order. They were used to him complaining about their behavior, but they never took it very seriously. But the look on his face was unfamiliar. They took their seats by Yale without protest.

Morgan looked into the fire for a moment, his hands gripping the log he was sitting on as though expecting to fall off.

"We've covered just about everything we can when it comes to getting ready for the colonists. We've Dreamed with some of them. We're preparing this vid to show the colonists while they're still on the ship. We've selected who'll get out of cold sleep when. We've assigned tasks for the first set of colonists. We've recruited help from the Elder." He rattled off his list as though it were written before him. He had been rehearsing this speech for days.

"But no one seems to want to bring up the most important component of this colony. We need an established governor. We need someone who will represent order before they even arrive."

Bess nodded in agreement. The rest of the group cast glances at each other.

Yale raised his hands to his lips as if in prayer. "That is an excellent point, Morgan. We will need a symbol of authority. We have all agreed that we must maintain our ability to make decisions for the colony considering our experience and knowledge of the planet."

John rolled his eyes. "You've just been itching for this, huh, Martin."

Morgan looked confused.

"John," Bess scolded, laying a hand on Morgan's shoulder.

Morgan laid his hand on hers for a moment before removing it. He stood up, timidly at first. Then he pulled on his shirt and held his head high. "Maybe you should hear me out, John."

John tossed out a hand. "Go ahead."

"Devon's not here. And Commander O'Neill… Well, basically we don't mean much to the people on that ship. Half of you weren't even supposed to land here in the first place. But the truth is, we've all worked our tails off to get here and build this colony. And I'll be damned if those people land and ruin everything."

The fire reflected in Morgan's eyes, giving him a demonic appearance The loose strands of his ponytail whipped in the ocean breeze. No one said a word. Ever since the birth of Virginia, Morgan had become fiercely protective of his family. And ever since the arrival date of the colony ship loomed closer, the more this group had become his family. John waited patiently for Morgan to continue. He didn't like thinking of the colonists as the enemy, but he knew they had to be prepared for any possibility.

"I say we establish Danziger as governor of New Pacifica once and for all. Officially."

Bess smiled proudly at her husband.

Baines scoffed. "Yeah, right. The colonists would never listen to a drone, no matter what kind of fancy title you give him."

"Especially a drone that wasn't meant to land here anyway," Walman agreed.

"What about Julia?" Denner offered. "She could do it, too."

Julia shook her head. "No way. Once the colony ship gets here, I'll have my hands full with the children. Besides, there are plenty of Council sympathizers on that ship who'll be hungry for the position themselves. If we want a new order on this planet, maybe I'm not the best representative."

"Or Yale. He's the smartest one here. And the wisest," Cameron supplied.

Yale smiled. "Thank you, Cameron. But I would also be a…problematic choice. And besides, I am very much looking forward to teaching the children about their new home once the school is finished."

Morgan was looking from person to person with an incredulous look on his face. "Hello!" he interrupted. "My whole point is that each of us has something to contribute. We would all help the governor. John led us here. John has made all the tough decisions. And John will continue to do so. There are immigrant workers on that ship. Plenty of them. Devon recruited families from all backgrounds. With John as our governor, we can keep the Council sympathizers from gaining a foothold here. We can start off as equals."

Everyone gazed at Morgan in wonder.

He stood his ground, waiting for a response from Danziger.

John stared into the fire, his brows furrowed. What was he getting into?

"That all sounds real nice, Morgan. But they won't buy it. I'm just a mechanic."

"Dammit, Danziger, are you kidding me?" Baines yelled from the other side of the flames. He stood on his stump so as to get a better look at the group. "You're not just a mechanic. You were head of Ops, man. And ever since we had to leave Devon behind, it's like every decision you've made, you've gone to battle with her in your head before laying things out. And it's worked. You aren't going off half-cocked anymore because you aren't trying to prove a point to her. She's not here, but you're finally listening to her. And that's why you gotta do this. For us. For all of us. And for everything we've built. Not just for New Pacifica, but for this whole shankin' planet." Baines's jaw tightened as he tried to keep his voice from wavering. "We have to be the example for what humans can be, Danz. You've got what it takes."

"Plus you're intimidating as hell," Alonzo added, hoping to lighten the mood.

Uly and True could barely contain their excitement. Governor?

John shook his head slowly before leaning his head back and taking in the sight of the two moons looking down on them from a clear sky. He laughed softly. "Mom, if you could see your little boy now," he thought.

"Come on, Danz, what's the big deal? You'll just keep doing what you've been doing. Except there will be hundreds more of us to boss around," Magus smiled, walking over to stand in front of him.

John raised himself off of his seat before letting out a deep breath. "Fine. Let's do it. But two things. This is temporary until things get settled with the colonists, and then they vote for a leader."

Yale nodded his approval. "And what is the second thing?"

"I don't like the word governor," he growled, thinking back to another self-made leader. The memory of Sheppard still made his skin crawl.

Morgan walked around the fire to meet John. "Mayor?" he offered, extending his hand.

John looked into his friends' faces. If he could find one disapproving look, a single averted glance, he would refuse this altogether. But all he saw were the hopeful smiles of the people he had worked with 'til exhaustion. The people he had starved with. Frozen with. The people who knew every one of his weaknesses and frailties, but accepted his leadership all the same. He suddenly thought of Devon and that moment they had shared on the Dreamplane. What would she say? What had she envisioned?

John grabbed Morgan's hand, nearly knocking him off balance. "Alright, Morgan. But I'll need you and Baines making speeches like that on my behalf if this is going to work."

Morgan returned the shake, smiling with relief. "Anything I can do to help, Mr. Mayor."

Devon removed her gear, smiling. She was glad Morgan had thought to capture this moment. Devon knew John still held the position. Had the colonists voted after all?

She had known the colony would need a leader. And although she had never stated it explicitly when planning the mission, she thought it was understood that she and Broderick O'Neill would be in charge with Yale at her side. In the beginning, at least.

Then it hit her. What would she possibly have to offer the colony now? They had obviously been able to make do until now. How long would it take her to catch up before she could use her skills to help the colony? She imagined herself relegated to plantings and harvests. Cafeteria duty. Cleaning staff. She knew all these tasks were divvied out regularly to all of the colonists, but she always assumed she'd be much too busy and important to participate in these communal duties. What would her life in New Pacifica be like?

**The Doctor**

Julia had left meticulous messages about medical concerns, particularly the health of the Syndrome children. She kept track of each child's progress after their encounters with the Terrians. She also tiredly updated Devon on the children who had not been allowed to undergo the change. Sometimes Dr. Vasquez joined her, but it was clear that Julia was in charge when it came to the children who had been changed.

"I did everything I could, Devon. But some of them are just so…damn stubborn," she huffed uncharacteristically. "The synthetics aren't a cure. The synthetics make life slightly more bearable. Is that enough?"

Julia shook her head. "It's not enough. How can these parents bear to let their children watch as Uly and the other changed children run and play? And Andrew Hunter…" Julia stopped short. "Andrew Hunter has his own beliefs." Devon was surprised by the disdain in Julia's voice. The vid ended, leaving Devon to wonder what her old friend Andrew Hunter had to do with the children's situation…and why Julia did not elaborate for her benefit.

**The Pilot**

"And little Latifah," Alonzo chuckled. "You should've seen her today. Last week we thought for sure that was it. I mean, pisses me off that kid had to suffer so much before her parents finally agreed to let the Terrians help… But, man, you should've seen her today. Three years old, and already popping up here and there. Drives her parents nuts, but when you see that little girl smile, proud and healthy… Well, let's just say her parents are gonna end up spoiling her rotten, even if she ends up caked in dirt and trilling in her sleep."

Alonzo liked to make his vids while he went on scouts. It helped kill time, he explained. Devon felt like she was riding alongside him. There were a few times when the vids were cut short as Alonzo came across something interesting or possibly dangerous, but the next vid always showed Alonzo chipper as always, weeks, maybe months later.

"You wouldn't believe the advances these kids have made. And if I didn't know better, I'd think Uly was a little jealous," he stated, winking. "I mean, don't get me wrong, when it comes to the Dreaming, no one's got it down like Uly. But the younger kids are just so happy, you know? All they know is they aren't sick anymore. Not only that, but they have superpowers now. Uly…well, Uly's had a harder time of it." Alonzo kept his eye on his path, steering with one hand, his other arm draped casually over the back of his seat.

"The Terrians seem relieved, too. Well, I guess that's the best word for it. They were a little worried for Uly. I mean, they still think he's special, but you can tell they're glad they've got it easy with these other kids."

"Ok, I'm coming up to some unfamiliar terrain. Gotta get a couple samples for the collection. Might not be edible, but we're looking for building material. Something for adhesive."

She could see the landscape slow down behind him as he kept his eyes on the path ahead. "You wouldn't believe some of the stuff we've found, Devon. If we hadn't been so freaked out on our way to New Pacifica, we wouldn't have missed so much."

She heard the ATV wind down to a halt. Alonzo grabbed some gear. "Gonna go the rest of the way on foot. Sorry you won't be joining me," he said flirtatiously, smiling into the camera before shutting it off.

The next vid was several months later, and Alonzo was definitely agitated. Alonzo was bundled up, puffs of steam escaping his lips with every exhalation. As usual, he seemed to start his vids mid-thought. "It just doesn't make sense. They've seen what the Terrians can do. How can they watch a kid die? How can they just sit there and watch their own damn kid die?"

He seemed to be driving recklessly, visibly angry. "Those sons-of-bitches," he muttered. "On one hand, I'm glad we don't have to deal with them anymore. On the other hand…those poor kids. Did we do enough? I mean, they saw the proof right before their eyes. What else could we do to convince them?"

Alonzo kept the vid running for a few moments, too angry to speak.

"Idiots," he cursed under his breath.

"Wish you were here. I mean, John runs a tight ship, but when it comes to Hunter… Oil and vinegar. No, worse than that. Ammonia and bleach?"

Alonzo rubbed some warmth into his legs. "You were always the diplomatic one," he stated before ending the recording.

**The Tutor**

Yale sat on the beach. Devon could hear the waves rushing to shore. The light was fading, and Devon wondered what her friend had been up to that day. The dull uniform he had worn for most of his life was replaced with a colorful shift, no doubt created by Bess who had relished the opportunity to finally work with fabrics from the colony ship.

"We thought we had accounted for everything," he began. His cheerful garb did not correspond with his dark mood. He sighed before continuing. "You see, we did not realize it at the time, but all of those months we spent traversing the continent gave us a healthy respect, sometimes even a healthy fear of this world and its abilities. But the colonists… No matter what stories we share with them, they were not there to experience it. It is easy for them to cling to the past. To cling to the old ways and old beliefs. They see the healing of their children as a single moment. They still do not understand that their children are not simply cured of the Syndrome, but they are changed. They are part of this land."

Yale smiled sadly. "It is difficult for them. They are afraid of this world and its inhabitants. But they cannot comprehend that what is truly terrifying is what will happen to us if we do not change, too. Devon, these chips, these cursed chips… They keep us alive by controlling the most minute changes in our bodies. So we can tolerate this sun, this air that our species did not evolve with. As similar as this planet may be to Earth, it will never truly be Earth. The children _must_ be changed. It is too late for the rest of us. We have our chips. And until Eve suffers another breakdown or the chips malfunction on their own, they are keeping us alive. But the children… The children would never be able to return to Earth or the Stations. We know that was never their parents' intentions, but to hear that…definitively. It is difficult for them."

"Devon, we must remember Elizabeth Anson's words. This planet will reject us. Julia has been able to piece together a fragment of Bennett and Anson's research and believes that they themselves were missing important data. What they accepted as fact may not be quite as sure. But the possibility of rejection is still very likely. Those who aren't changed by the Terrians will eventually have children with a _new_ Syndrome. So, what will become of us? Not only our small colony, but our people on the Stations?"

Yale seemed to relax. "The Dreaming… Would it be possible to reach the Stations? Could it be possible to direct those on the Stations? That Earth is the answer? As damaged as it is, does humanity have the ability to make it whole again?"

Yale smiled, a weight obviously lifted from his mind. "You see, Devon, this is all too much for me to discuss with our friends right now. We have more urgent issues than the survival of our species. But I miss our talks. I hope I haven't overwhelmed you."

Yale swung his eye piece to face the ocean, growing dark as the sun fled to the west.

"I leave you with this," he chuckled. "This is what it is all about. And you will see it soon."

**The Mayor**

John left brief notes about city management and systems, rarely looking directly into the camera. Devon was relieved to see his hair slowly growing back, which made him look a little less intense. But it pained her to see him so disconnected. This wasn't the man she had known. The few times his eyes met hers, so to speak, he would quickly look away, sometimes clearing his throat. He was obviously distracted. Like Julia, he seemed worried, a little ashamed.

Both John and Julia's reports were very business-like. They reminded her of quarterly reports to Adair Industries stock holders. It was as though the reluctant mayor and the haggard doctor would have made these vids whether they were intended for Devon or not. As though maybe, just maybe, they didn't expect Devon to see them at all.

This was not the John Devon remembered. Even at his most tense, he had always seemed comfortable in his own skin. But in these vids, he didn't seem like himself. Devon couldn't tell if his position had changed him, or if he had some strange form of stage fright.

Finally during one of John's reports, he paused for a moment before raising his eyes to look directly into the lens. "I sure hope you get a chance to watch these shankin' things, Adair, because they're a real pain in the ass."

Devon laughed. As though he were reacting to her laugh, John grinned. "See you later," he said simply before raising his hand to turn off his gear. Devon almost found herself responding to him, before remembering that this particular message was a couple of years old.

With a glimpse of that grin, Devon felt her heart race. She knew her cheeks were flushed and hoped Julia wasn't paying attention. She chuckled to herself. She'd always found her attraction to John Danziger completely absurd. There were a few hundred single men at New Pacifica. Fathers, brothers, uncles, friends… Some of whom she had visited in person back on the Stations, convincing them to join their families on this impossible mission. Certainly she could find a better match for herself than John. But when she had seen that smile, finally seen his eyes looking at her, she had felt something more than just physical attraction. It was something deeper. It was like remembering the barest flash of a dream. She knew him. And she couldn't wait to see him.

**The Liaison**

Morgan's slightly manic, often conspiratorial entries were a relief compared to John and Julia's doom and gloom. He often spoke out of the side of his mouth, looking around distractedly as though he were watching out for eavesdroppers. Instead of driving her crazy, as he had in the past, Devon was finding him endearing. His entries were earnest, but always ended with some kind of light-hearted anecdote, as though he were determined to please her. As though she were some distant, high-level manager who would be returning to inspect the factory any moment. He seemed to be handling the actual politics that John probably had no taste for. John obviously saw the colony through a mechanic's eyes. He saw it through its component parts and systems. He wanted it to run efficiently and smoothly and didn't understand when some of the colonists seemed to stand in the way of those goals. But Morgan seemed to savor his role as right-hand man. He was able to throw his weight around without being ultimately responsible for making final decisions. Devon would have never believed it before, but John and Morgan appeared to be the perfect team in this regard. The mayor-mechanic made the tough choices while the liaison-lawyer smoothed the ruffled feathers of disgruntled colonists.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

"Doctor Heller? Are we coming through on your side?" Denner's face appeared, but her eyes seemed to be focused on the control panel in front of her.

"Hi, Gayle, you're coming through loud and clear. It's great to see you."

Denner manipulated the board for a moment before raising her eyes to the camera. "Ok, there we go. Yes, it's good to see you, too! How's our patient?"

"Becoming…less patient," Julia said with a slight smile.

"I can understand that. So are we. We can't wait to see her." Denner cocked her head to one side as though she were listening to someone near her. "Ok, Alonzo reminded me we don't have much time. There's something important he needs to talk to you about."

Before Julia could say good-bye, Alonzo filled her vision. Instead of his usual wide smile and dimples, he looked concerned.

"What's going on?" she asked, foregoing their usual pleasantries.

"Listen, Uly's still not back."

Julia raised her hand to her lips in surprise. "It's been almost two weeks. What if…"

"We hoped he would've come back by now. We've been sweeping with the shuttles every day to look for any signs of him. We have to be careful though, you know."

"I know. Steer clear of Hunter's camp."

Alonzo nodded knowingly.

"Uly promised us. He promised the Terrians. He swore, Alonzo. You thought he was doing so well…"

"He seemed to be trying, but I wouldn't say he was progressing. He still wasn't Dreaming. He seemed ok, though. He really seemed ok. John and Yale thought so, too."

"What am I going to tell Devon? I haven't told her anything about all the times Uly has run away. Uly wanted to tell her himself." Julia ran her fingers through her hair. "I could just…wring his neck," she said between clenched teeth.

"You sound like Danziger. But, hey, I don't blame you. That kid has some terrible timing. Speaking of Danziger, he took off after him sometime last night."

"I'm going to wring his neck, too. What's gotten into them?"

"He's being Danziger. He couldn't sit around doing nothing, so he took off last night. Snuck off with the shankin' ATV, disabled the tracker. Left his gear behind with a message for True and Yale. If anyone gets to wring his neck for this, it's them."

"So, you think Danziger won't be there either when we get home?"

Alonzo shook his head. "He's gonna look for Uly until he finds him. But we'd never be able to find Uly unless he wanted us to. He knows this place backwards and forwards. I'm just worried because he's not Dreaming. Something must have happened to him."

"What about the Terrians? Are they helping?"

Alonzo shook his head again and knitted his eyebrows. "They don't want anything to do with him. They warned him that he couldn't run away again. They meant it."

"I can't believe this. We almost made it home without a hitch. Devon's going to take this hard. She's been so anxious to get home to Uly. And she still hasn't seen the vids about Andrew Hunter."

Julia crossed her arms and looked out of the transport window. Devon was speaking with Magus. Julia felt her stomach churn at the thought that someone might slip and reveal too much to Devon before it was time. They had kept her from speaking with the others until she was well enough to insist on walking along the transport on some of the slower legs of their route.

Alonzo sighed. "Speaking of Hunter, we have to cut this off." He leaned in close to the camera. "I'm really sorry you have to take all the heat from Devon. But if you think you've got it bad, imagine Morgan running damage control for John again."

Julia wanted to laugh at the thought, but it just wasn't funny anymore. "Let's just hope John comes home very soon…with Uly in tow. For Devon's sake and for the colony's."

Alonzo forced a smile. "Once everything settles down, we'll all sit back and have a long, hard laugh about all this."

"I seriously doubt that, but thanks for trying."

"I love you. Good luck."

"I love you. See you soon."

* * *

><p>Julia was surprised at how well Devon took the news that Uly and Danziger might not be there when she arrived in New Pacifica. "Maybe I shouldn't have emphasized 'might not,'" she thought. Julia struggled with how much she should tell her. She tried to keep it simple. That Uly had left, as he had several times in the past, but he always returned unharmed. Danziger was out looking for him to make sure he came back before Devon arrived.<p>

Devon seemed satisfied, knowing that Uly's Terrian abilities were only getting stronger. She just wanted to get to New Pacifica as soon as possible to assess the situation herself. Hopefully Uly would be waiting with open arms.

* * *

><p>"Alright, here we are," Walman shouted.<p>

Devon and Julia dropped out of the back of the transport and shielded their eyes from the sun. They were in the middle of the plains with no shade in sight.

"This is what saved us," Julia said, gesturing to a spot a few meters away. "We were tired, hungry, thirsty, hot… Well, I'm sure you remember how that felt. And then the Terrians told Uly about another one of those spider tunnels. Except this one was more like a hole."

Magus and Mazatl were heading toward the spot, chatting amiably.

Walman didn't look up from reprogramming the transport, but couldn't help but overhear Julia. "Cut months off our route," Walman chimed in. "But we've never investigated by land between here and where this hole dumps you out. The rest of the group will be continuing on with the transport to collect materials, check out new resources, plants. Especially anything we can't depend on trading with the Grendlers. Now that the rest of us aren't taking up room, they'll have plenty of storage space in the transport."

Julia nodded, "I can't wait to see what they come up with."

"Undiscovered territory? Aren't you worried?" Devon asked.

Walman hopped out of the cab and threw an informal salute to the New Pacifican taking his place. He waited until the three of them were out of earshot before responding. "We settled a few things with the Terrians before we even planned this adventure. I mean, yeah, these guys will have their share of problems, but it'll toughen them up. The colonists need to experience some of the misery this place can dish out."

Devon wasn't sure how to take this cold comment. In the distance, she saw Magus and Mazatl studying the terrain more intensely than before.

"Something's happened here. Not recently, but there was trouble," Mazatl said quietly to his friend, throwing a glance over his shoulder to see how closely the others were.

"Humans?" Magus asked, keeping her eyes trained on the ground as she moved toward the spider hole.

"Yes. But no sign of shelters nearby. Perhaps they were in transit." He had come upon some discarded supplies, but he didn't like what he saw.

"Sounds familiar. This wouldn't be the best place to stop."

Mazatl closed his eyes, lowered his head, and opened himself to the Dreamplane. He still didn't have the natural inclination of Alonzo or the clarity of the Changed children, but he could usually call the Dreaming when he focused.

He felt motion. Running. Fear. "Something was here," he mumbled, struggling to keep himself between the two realms. "Left a trace on this land. Fast. Cold."

Magus was slowly walking toward him, afraid of startling him. "What do you see?" she whispered.

"Blood. Pain." Mazatl seemed to recoil from the visions.

"Maz, you ok? We don't need to know. We're getting out of here."

"Cold."

Magus hated stirring someone when they were in the middle of Dreaming, but she didn't like what she was hearing. She saw Walman give her a questioning look as he began approaching with Devon and Julia. She shrugged and shook her head at him.

"Alright, buddy. Come on back. We're going to jump in that hole and head home. Maz?" She slowly reached out a hand to touch his shoulder.

Mazatl suddenly gasped sharply, eyes wide.

Magus jumped back. "Dammit, don't do that!" she yelled, grabbing her heart.

"A ZED," he breathed, turning to face her.

Magus immediately scanned the horizon in fear, wishing she'd grabbed her Mag-Pro from the transport before they decided to poke around.

Mazatl saw her reaction and laughed softly. "It's alright, friend. It's been perhaps a month. It has surely moved on."

Magus shook her head. "There's no 'surely' about it. Let's get the hell out of here."

Mazatl didn't argue. If the ZED was watching, they wouldn't find out until it was too late.

Mazatl and Magus hurried back to the transport. Without a word to Walman, she tapped her gear and spoke into an open channel. "Alright, guys. We're throwing you straight into the fire. There was a ZED here a while back. Who knows where he's gone off to, but there's a trail of debris leading away from the other side of that hole. We're getting the hell out of here, and you should hightail it yourselves. Remember what we taught you. See you in a few months."

A wide-eyed Devon watched as her friends grabbed a few bags and mag-pros from the transport. Luckily, they'd all said more than enough good-byes around the campfire the night before, but it still seemed rather sudden. A few waves of farewell, and the transport bearing the innocent, but adventurous, colonists was on its way. The rest of them hurried to the spider hole.

Devon was impressed by the confidence and cohesion of her companions. They were so in sync, she felt like any questions from her would be a distraction.

One by one, the group shimmied down into the almost-overgrown hole. Devon was amazed by how instantaneously the smell and feel of the cave took her back to the only other time she'd experienced this mode of travel. Her mind quickly wandered to memories of the ocean, the sound of the waves. Her final moments on the beach with John's arm around her…

"I can feel it building," Mazatl whispered for Devon's benefit. "Get ready."

They all huddled together, holding on tightly to each other. There would be no breaking loose and getting lost.

Devon wondered how often her friends had used these tunnels. They seemed so comfortable with the process… Before she could let out one more question, the light and wind swept them up, and Devon's breath was gone.

To her surprise, they ended up on the other side in the same formation. Not sprawled all over the floor of the cave, or stuck in a wall, or worse.

Mazatl saved her from having to ask. He could read it on her face. "Once you get used to it, it's easy," he smiled. The smile was short-lived as Mazatl and the others quickly got down to business and began to investigate their surroundings. To Devon, the cave was pretty much identical to the one they had just left.

Walman raised his mag-pro and began to make his way toward the exit, his senses taking in any clues of danger.

"Expecting company?" Devon asked worriedly.

Walman flipped a switch and the weapon began to hum. "Just a precaution, Devon. Don't worry."

Mazatl laid out a hand to stop Walman in his tracks. "Hold, Walman. Someone has been here."

"One of us?" Julia asked, squinting at the ground, still unable to see what Mazatl was remarking on.

He shook his head. "Perhaps. But these are tracks leaving out of the cave. Not going in."

"But we haven't used this cave in a year at least. The only one we use much at all is the one to the Underground," Walman stated.

"And even then, not often," Mazatl sighed, grabbing his Luma-lamp and bending low to get a good look at the ground.

Devon turned from person to person, clearly confused. "What's going on with the tunnels?"

Julia smiled at Devon. "I'm sure it'll make perfect sense. Let's just get out of here and meet the shuttle, ok?"

Walman and Mazatl shared a glance. "What if these tracks…"

"They don't use the light tunnels, Walman. They'd rather die than use the spider caves or anything else from this planet," Julia said angrily.

"They?" Devon asked. She leaned in close to Julia. "I've had enough surprises the last few days to last me a lifetime, Julia. I think I can take on a few more."

"Hunter's camp. It's less than a day's walk from here."

Devon's eyes widened as she cast another glance at the mag-pros, buzzing and ready for action. She raised her eyes to meet Walman's, who quickly looked away.

"The communication restrictions? And now this? You're afraid of him?"

Walman took Julia's arm. "You're right. Let's just get out of here, alright? I'll check the entrance."

"Andy Hunter? I've known Andy my whole life. He worked for my parents! This is ridiculous. I should just talk to him. There's apparently been some kind of misunderstanding." Devon's smile quickly left her face when she noted the reaction of her friends.

"Devon, I know you hate for me to say this, but you've been gone four years. There are going to be a lot of things that don't make sense. But you have to trust us. And you can't expect to understand everything at once. But, yes, we are afraid of Andrew Hunter. And we don't think you're ready to speak to him, anyway. Maybe in time. Maybe that will be the answer…"

"But for now, let's quit yammering and get to the shankin' shuttle, ok?" Walman whispered harshly. He didn't like being stuck in there with rock to his back. At least the Terrian caves back at New Pacifica were lit and roomy, and he knew all the exits. And he didn't like seeing Mazatl with his hackles up. Not one bit.

Mazatl shook his head and got back to his feet. "I can't make sense of these prints. But whoever it was got out of here in a hurry." He began following the tracks, keeping the Luma-lamp focused on the ground. Once he reached daylight, his face fell.

"Someone was waiting," he gasped.

Walman blinked in the sunlight for a moment before getting down on his knees and taking a look. "Scuffle," he said simply.

Devon brought up the rear, angry at being chastised by Julia. But she held her tongue. She would hold off on the questions as long as she could. She didn't want to keep sounding like a child who's come into a vid halfway through the story. And right now she didn't want to impede their progress. Not when New Pacifica was so close. She would listen. Listen and learn.

Julia looked around. "Yes, someone had been set up here for a while. Waiting. They cleaned up, but you can tell."

Devon couldn't tell anything. But as Julia kept reminding her, she'd been gone for a while.

Without a word, the others circled Devon and Julia, mag-pros at the ready, looking around for any hint of movement.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get moving," Walman hissed between clenched teeth.

They moved in formation slowly, but eventually brought their pace to a light jog. Julia wrapped her arm around Devon's waist.

"Devon, let me know if you get tired. You've been doing well, but you're still recovering."

"I think I'm running on adrenaline at this point, Julia."

Walman was heading their little group. Without turning around, he called out to Magus. "What do you see?"

"He's a ways off, but they have someone keeping watch. Can't say for sure, but I'll be damned if he isn't sleeping."

Walman smiled. "A man after my own heart."

"Devon, listen, we're headed toward a narrow pass in that ridge up ahead. We'll head south for a little while and meet Alonzo behind that ridge. He'll come in low so Hunter's men won't see," Julia stated calmly, as though she were explaining a procedure to a patient before surgery.

Devon had been building her strength walking beside the transport for short stretches, but the hustling was beginning to take its toll on her. She opened her mouth to take in deeper breaths, but tried desperately not to pant. The last thing she wanted was to slow them down. "Julia, really, I just can't believe Andy would…"

Walman slowed, but didn't stop. He turned his head to look over his shoulder at Devon. "Would you stop calling him that?" he barked before returning his gaze to their goal.

Devon gasped and almost lost her footing. Julia had that worried look on her face again. Devon had never hated it so much.

"Walman, we should stop and catch our breath," Julia offered, releasing her grip from Devon and touching a button on her diaglove.

"I'll carry her myself if we have to. The sooner we get to that ridge, the better."

"But Magus doesn't think they saw us!"

Julia raised her hand to Devon and was about to press her fingers behind Devon's ear. "Get that thing away from me. Let's get to the ridge."

They continued in silence, Devon wincing, but refusing to let up. The terrain by the ridge was rocky, but the pass was within sight. Finally, they squeezed through. Devon was dumbfounded by the sandy openness on the other side of the high ridge.

"Here he comes!"

"Thank God. He's early."

Devon's face lit up when she saw the shuttle. "But why didn't you just pick me up in the shuttle?" She looked at it more closely. "Julia, this isn't a New Pacifica shuttle."

"Later, ok?"

"This is the shuttle from the colony ship. It was supposed to return with the ship."

"We kept it. We have two shuttles."

Before Devon could question her again, she saw the gangplank of the shuttle lower to the ground. Alonzo bolted down as fast as he could and swept up Julia and Devon in his arms. "I'm surrounded by beauty!" he laughed. "Look at you," he said, holding Devon at arm's length. "Amazing. Simply amazing." He grabbed her in a bear hug.

"Alonzo, she feels like she hasn't seen you in a couple weeks, don't weird her out," Walman suggested.

Alonzo stepped back and simply looked at her. His smile was so infectious, Devon couldn't help but feel a wide grin grow on her face.

"Alonzo!" came a deep voice from the shuttle.

"Nuts! I was so excited, I almost forgot!" Alonzo grabbed Devon's hand and pulled her toward the shuttle. "Try to keep up, Julia!"

Devon stopped at the bottom of the gangplank. Yale stood at the top, looking down. "My child," he whispered. Devon's eyes widened for a moment before she sprinted up the gangplank. She held on to Yale as tears began to spill from the corners of his eyes. He stroked her hair. "Dear Devon."

Devon felt him shaking beneath her arms. Walman was right. She had last seen her friends two weeks ago. And she had watched countless hours of vids. But hearing Yale's sobs brought the reality of the past four years crashing down on her.

"I'm here, Yale. I'm here, and I'm fine."

Yale slowly pulled away and wiped his face with a handkerchief. "Yes, you are. It's a miracle." He smiled at Julia as she made her way up the gangplank. "Julia, you did it."

Walman brought up the rear and took a quick glance around at the ridge before closing the gate. "Hate to break up the festivities, but everyone take a seat so we can get the hell outta here."

Alonzo laughed as he made his way to the cockpit. "Aye-aye, captain. You run into trouble down there?"

Walman followed him. "Seems like we missed the party."

"How's that?"

"Someone came running out of that cave a while back. Hard to know when, but someone was waiting for him."

"Hunter's men?"

"Most likely."

"Yeah, let's get the hell outta here."

Yale sat with Devon, holding tightly to her hand, mesmerized by her presence. Devon had been excited to be reunited with her friends, but now she was nervous. She wasn't sure how much hugging and staring she could handle.

As if reading her thoughts, Julia took her other hand. "Don't worry. We're limiting your welcoming party to Edenites only."

"Edenites? Oh, from Eden Advance."

"To differentiate ourselves from the rest of the colonists."

"Do you have to do that often?"

Julia's smile faltered. "No, of course not."

After all the excitement of running from the cave and seeing Yale, Devon returned to business. "Yale, about Uly."

"Still no word. But, Devon, no one knows the ins and outs of this planet better than…"

"He should be alright, though. Right, Yale? Considering his powers, he should be safe at least. Right?" she almost begged him.

Yale glanced at Julia, realizing she hadn't told Devon the whole truth. Uly was being denied access to those abilities. He was truly on his own. There would be no going into the earth, no use of lightning, no Dreaming.

"Devon, Uly will make it home," Yale answered in the truest way he could muster. His own heart's belief made it so.

"But why would he run away when he knew I was coming home? Did he not believe you? Did he think I would…"

"I don't…know. Devon, Uly has been particularly difficult to read of late. But John is investigating."

"That doesn't make me feel any better," Devon said sternly.

"John would give anything to have Uly home right now. He simply could not rest with Uly gone."

"So he ran off half-cocked again. Long after Uly went missing."

Yale was not reacting the way Devon predicted. "Please, Devon…," he pleaded.

Devon remembered Julia's constant reminders. She had been gone four years. And she couldn't expect to know everything. She had to try not to judge.

"Well," she began, planting a smile on her face, "there's nothing we can do about it now. Uly will come home, just like you've said he always does. In the meantime, I'll learn the lay of the land." She wouldn't be able to put this behind her at all, but the last thing she wanted to do was destroy everyone's first impression of her after four years. Once they got to New Pacifica, and she had a night to sleep on it in her new bed, she would be going after Uly herself.

"Thank you, Devon. Thank you for your patience. I know this is difficult," Julia said.

Devon nodded and took a deep breath. "A little."

"Everyone will be so happy to see you, Devon. This is like a dream."

Devon smiled at her old friend. "I hope all the attention doesn't give me a big head."

Yale chuckled, but still held her in his gaze as though she were, indeed, a dream.

"Devon, everyone will be clamoring for your attention when we land, but it would mean a lot to us if you made a special effort for True."

Devon thought back to True's vids. "Of course."

"This has been especially difficult for her. She feels Uly betrayed her trust and now her father has put himself in danger again to try to bring him home."

"It was a good thing you were there for her," Devon replied. It was going to be difficult seeing everyone from a new perspective. She would have to be careful not to linger too much on her own worries and concerns. It was apparent from True's vids that she was very close to Yale now.

"Would you like to rest? You might not get a chance once we land. Not for a while, anyway."

Devon yawned at the mere mention of rest. "You're right. I'm not fully recovered. I could use a few moments…"


	5. Chapter 5

[Author's Note: This chapter will be it for a while. There is much more to come, but a lot to tweak. I hope you're enjoying it. If not, I'm surprised you made it to Chapter 5. Yes, Danziger will finally show up. If you've read my other story, "No Special Occasion," you'll know I'm a big fan of the character. So…on with the story.]

**CHAPTER 5**

Devon felt her knees go weak as she headed down the gangplank. Some of them rushed to meet her. Others held back, not wanting to crowd her, remembering that this moment was less significant for her than it was for them.

She had so many arms around her, she wasn't even sure whom she was hugging anymore.

Morgan kept his distance. He held Adam closely to his chest, but breathed a deep sigh of relief. The great Devon Adair had returned. And as glad as he was that Devon had made it back alive, he was also looking forward to her help now that Danziger had flown the coop. Morgan felt Adam stir, awakened by all the activity. He absentmindedly kissed the top of his head, keeping an eye on the new arrival.

"Do you want me to take him? You know, so you can go say hello?" True offered.

Morgan had been so enraptured, he hadn't even noticed her standing next to him. "Oh, no thanks, True. You go ahead."

True gave him a half-smile but made no attempt to join the others.

"It's no big deal. She's here to stay. I'll have plenty of time. No need to fuss all over her. I'm sure she hates it." True found a log to sit on.

Morgan joined her. Sometimes she was so much like her dad, it scared him half to death. But he saw other influences there. Yale, Bess, Julia, Alonzo, even himself. He liked to think she was the best parts of all of them wrapped up in one sometimes infuriating package.

"Yeah, you're right." He knew he'd get her talking the less he helped.

"I mean, I was just a little kid when she got sick. And I was always fighting with Uly. She probably thought I was a brat."

"Well…," he tried to tease.

True gave him the Danziger glare, and he unconsciously held up Adam as a barrier.

True giggled. "Bess would kill you if she saw you do that."

Morgan joined in. "Sorry, kid," he whispered, returning the baby to his chest and patting his back.

"Morgan," she started. "Nevermind."

He took a seat beside her. "Look, you shouldn't feel guilty for Uly running off…"

True was startled. "That's not what I was thinking at all."

"Oh." He wanted to back pedal, but wasn't sure how.

"Why would you say that? Did someone say something?"

"No," he said, his eyes widening. He gave her a weak smile. "No, that's not it at all. I mean…" He stopped for a moment. "So, uh, what were you going to say?"

True studied him, her eyes narrowed in mistrust. Finally she turned her head to Devon and the milling crowd. She slumped over, elbows on her knees. "I left her the most embarrassing vids, Morgan. At first it was just little things. And then after a while I just told her everything. I used her as a pathetic pre-teen diary. If I'm lucky she didn't bother watching them at all."

"How mortifying," Morgan laughed. "Well, that's an awkward age for anyone, even the great Devon Adair. I'm sure she'll understand."

True groaned. "If she tells anyone anything I said, I'll just die. _And_ she's going to be living in my house!"

Morgan handed Adam off to her. "I'm sure she'll have other things to worry about."

True rolled her eyes. "He needs to be changed."

"Oh, does he?" he asked in mock surprise, getting up to join the others.

True sighed. Adam wasn't fussing yet, but he would be soon enough. She got up to leave, prepared to make her way to the Martins' house.

"Wait! True!" Bess was running toward her. "I'll take him, sweetheart. Don't go."

"But he's…"

"I'll go get him changed. Don't worry about it. I can't believe Morgan sometimes."

True turned to the crowd, Morgan with Virginia in his arms, chatting with Devon. Devon turned and caught her eye before True could look away. True stood motionless. Had Devon always been that beautiful?

Bess gently removed the baby from True's arms. "True, honey, just go ahead. Don't be shy."

When True still wouldn't budge, Bess gave her a soft shove. "I need to change this baby, but I'm not moving 'til you start moving. That's an order, Danziger."

True was shaken from her trance. "Ok, Bess, stop pushing."

Bess left the beach to head toward home, humming softly over Adam's head.

True took a deep breath before moving forward. At the same moment, Devon began to gently force her way through the crowd, heading in her direction.

"True!" Devon called, smiling and waving. She was moving more quickly now.

True suddenly felt her legs grow weak. She'd been standing here watching Devon, but it hadn't hit her until Devon had actually seen _her_. Until Devon had acknowledged _her_. That's when the floodgates opened. This was really happening. This was really Devon Adair. She couldn't take another step. She began to shake. In a flash, Yale had his arm around her. Devon looked worried and approached carefully. "Oh, True, are you alright?"

True couldn't hold it in anymore and began sobbing. Devon took her in her arms. "It's alright, sweetie. It's ok. You know what? Let's just head home, ok?" True nodded, sniffling.

"This wasn't how it was supposed to happen at all, Devon."

Devon tried to comfort her, but she really was anxious to see New Pacifica.

"Uly was supposed to help. He said he'd help. And Dad was going to be here. We had the whole thing planned."

"I'll see them soon. Don't worry, True."

"Yes, True, let's keep moving, shall we?" Yale offered, patting True on the back.

"We had the whole thing planned! We had this planned for years! How could Uly do this? How could…" True's hands were shaking fists at her sides. But she seemed to be speaking more to herself than anyone else. She began to follow the path Bess had taken moments before.

Devon pleaded with Yale with her eyes.

"Give her time," he sighed, watching True storm off.

Devon nodded weakly, barely hearing him. She had but one thought. What would her first glance at New Pacifica feel like? Her heart raced. She knew her friends were keeping something from her. And she knew there was more to Hunter and his colony than they were willing to let on. She knew her son was missing, and the man who promised to protect him would not be there to greet her. But she pushed all of it to the furthest reaches of her mind to make room for the realization of her dream. New Pacifica.

With a deep breath, she took another step, ready to meet it for the first time.


End file.
